Dollycas's Thoughts
Val Deniston's grandfather, the Codger Cook is hosting a dinner party with her actually making the meal he will take credit for. She has prepared some appetizers and both light and cream clam chowder.
Not long after his guests have sat down to eat one of the guests "pitched face-first into the chowder". While Scott Freaze comes around he isn't feeling well and others are worried about food poisoning, but no one else had any ill effects from the meal. Then the next day Mr. Freaze passes away at the hospital. Val's grandfather invited the man to dinner to hopefully get him to admit he scammed his best friend out of a lot of money but never expected the man to die. None of the other guests are talking so the Codger Cook is the sheriff's prime suspect. Now not only is her granddad's freedom at stake so is her job at the fitness club's Cool Down Café.
Val has to find a perfect recipe to solve the murder and save her job. Of course, her grandfather wants to help, but that could lead to both of their demise.
____
The number 5 is the key here.
5 ingredient recipes
5 suspects
5 key clues
Val Deniston is supposed to be working on a cookbook but working at the Cool Down Café and keeping her grandfather out of trouble pretty much takes up all her time. He recently landed a recipe column with the local newspaper. A huge feat for a man who can't cook. Her relationship with Gunnar Swenson is totally in flux, their romance didn't work but can they still be friends or can they find a romantic spark? He had so many other things going on in this story he didn't have much time for her. Val's cafe assistant and tennis partner Bethany is a good friend. She fills in at work when Val is off investigating and is a great sounding board and sleuthing partner. All the characters are evolving. I just wish Val's grandfather wasn't so curmudgeonly with her. She does so much for him and he should appreciate it.
7 dinner guests; Granddad, the victim, and 5 suspects set off the murder mystery. Frankly, they were all cagey. At one time or another, all five were at the top of my list. A second murder twisted things up nicely. I pared my list down to two and when the killer was revealed all the clues, 5 key ones, fell into place sans a few worthy misdirections. Ms. Corrigan did a fine job plotting this one out to keep her readers guessing right up to the end.
There are recipes from the Codger Cook, aka Val's recipes in the back of the book including, Waterman's Clam Chowder, Crunchy Lime Chicken, and No Crust No Fuss Spinach Pie.
This series has a great Five-Ingredient theme. Scam Chowder has a strong mystery, takes on elder fraud, and has characters that continue to develop. I enjoyed the story very much. I am unsure why I didn't keep up with this series when it first came out but I am happy to return to it now. I will be moving Final Fondue up on my To-Be-Read stack.
Val Deniston's grandfather, the Codger Cook is hosting a dinner party with her actually making the meal he will take credit for. She has prepared some appetizers and both light and cream clam chowder.
Not long after his guests have sat down to eat one of the guests "pitched face-first into the chowder". While Scott Freaze comes around he isn't feeling well and others are worried about food poisoning, but no one else had any ill effects from the meal. Then the next day Mr. Freaze passes away at the hospital. Val's grandfather invited the man to dinner to hopefully get him to admit he scammed his best friend out of a lot of money but never expected the man to die. None of the other guests are talking so the Codger Cook is the sheriff's prime suspect. Now not only is her granddad's freedom at stake so is her job at the fitness club's Cool Down Café.
Val has to find a perfect recipe to solve the murder and save her job. Of course, her grandfather wants to help, but that could lead to both of their demise.
____
The number 5 is the key here.
5 ingredient recipes
5 suspects
5 key clues
Val Deniston is supposed to be working on a cookbook but working at the Cool Down Café and keeping her grandfather out of trouble pretty much takes up all her time. He recently landed a recipe column with the local newspaper. A huge feat for a man who can't cook. Her relationship with Gunnar Swenson is totally in flux, their romance didn't work but can they still be friends or can they find a romantic spark? He had so many other things going on in this story he didn't have much time for her. Val's cafe assistant and tennis partner Bethany is a good friend. She fills in at work when Val is off investigating and is a great sounding board and sleuthing partner. All the characters are evolving. I just wish Val's grandfather wasn't so curmudgeonly with her. She does so much for him and he should appreciate it.
7 dinner guests; Granddad, the victim, and 5 suspects set off the murder mystery. Frankly, they were all cagey. At one time or another, all five were at the top of my list. A second murder twisted things up nicely. I pared my list down to two and when the killer was revealed all the clues, 5 key ones, fell into place sans a few worthy misdirections. Ms. Corrigan did a fine job plotting this one out to keep her readers guessing right up to the end.
There are recipes from the Codger Cook, aka Val's recipes in the back of the book including, Waterman's Clam Chowder, Crunchy Lime Chicken, and No Crust No Fuss Spinach Pie.
This series has a great Five-Ingredient theme. Scam Chowder has a strong mystery, takes on elder fraud, and has characters that continue to develop. I enjoyed the story very much. I am unsure why I didn't keep up with this series when it first came out but I am happy to return to it now. I will be moving Final Fondue up on my To-Be-Read stack.
4 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed this book with the MC running a cafe at the local fitness club. She lives with her grandfather who claims to be the Codger Gourmet writing a recipe column for the local newspaper but in reality he is using his granddaughter's recipes. He's clueless about cooking.
Of course there's a couple of murders to solve and a bit of a romance interest still developing.
The recipes in this series are attractive to me as each recipe only uses five ingredients. Simple and tasty!
Of course there's a couple of murders to solve and a bit of a romance interest still developing.
The recipes in this series are attractive to me as each recipe only uses five ingredients. Simple and tasty!
